Innovation Without Borders

Immigrants have a different perspective at looking at problems since they come from another world. While this is an advantage in creating new solutions for existing problems, it also is a disadvantage to not know the system and how things work. Cultural differences can be overcome by initial customer discovery interviews. Talking to hundreds of potential clients will give them the clue whether their idea is viable or not. Regulatory challenges can be overcome by structuring a strong team. Accelerator or incubator programs also help them guide through this difficult journey especially at their early stages. Building a great advisory board will help them overcome many difficulties since they cannot do this alone.

Fundraising is a difficult process, and it is a matter of building relationships which takes time. Investors want to see if the founders are the right leaders to solve that specific problem and will not quit. They usually trust and invest into people who look and talk like themselves. It could be conscious or unconscious bias, but the fact is there. The best method to overcome these trust issues is showing the proof of success – which is traction or if you are a repeat founder who had success previously. The steep hill those immigrant founders have in front of them may ease along the way once they start winning paying clients.

Success comes only with execution and only great founders with strong teams and precise guidance can execute. Founder builds the company, its culture, mission, vision and creates the team that will execute its vision. However, the founder cannot do all this alone. Accessing resources including networks is key. Immigrants usually have barriers in either being accepted to existing networks or creating their own network. It takes time to get to know people and trust them. The best way to speed this up is to be more social and active in the community, attend events, panels, speaking and pitching opportunities and giving back options working with non-profits, higher education, accelerator programs and take roles within the tech ecosystem defining the critical players in the industry.

Founders in general have higher ego than any other person. They have courage to take down the barriers, quit their comfort zone and try new and impossible things. This strength may easily turn into a disadvantage as they believe in their idea and passionately go after it. Immigrants are no different than other entrepreneurs in that sense. In fact, they have the experience of having lived in another country with different rules, regulations and cultural preferences which could be another barrier, aside from its advantage of looking things from another angle. They can easily make the mistake of believing that they know the problem well and have the ultimate solution.

I first try to assess their personality when I meet a founder. Do they listen, are they coachable, what is their previous experience and then what problem they are trying to solve? The first step is to start customer discovery. This should be an ongoing process since expectations, technology and problems evolve. The only way to avoid pitfalls and find product market fit is to keep on questioning, listening, asking for help and being open to guidance while building a solid advisory board.

Founder Institute (FI) is the largest network of accelerators in the World. There are FI accelerators in 100 countries being led by local leaders who have entrepreneurial experience and local network. The proven 14-week program is quite intense for every founder. It is a coaching program with mentors, weekly sessions, pre-session and post-session deliverables, office hours and peer working groups. So, the founders learn by doing the work themselves. It is quite challenging since we push and guide them to what really needs to be done to achieve success. We help them do less mistakes during this process. By the end of 14 weeks, surviving 30% realize that they have done two years work with the right guidance provided by the structured program and expert mentors. Time and speed is of essence in the tech world. This is what we offer. They can check out www.fi.co about the program details and www.fi.co/washington-dc for the DC chapter timelines.

This October, we are kicking off a brand new in-person program with the support of two government organizations in Washington DC, partnering with WeWork: https://fi.co/bootcamp/pennwest. Golden Triangle Business Improvement District and Office of the Deputy Mayor's Planning and Economic Development sponsored FI Washington DC and we created a no-fee and no-equity program with access to WeWork Co-Working space in the Penn West District in Washington DC. The mission is to attract the best startups, talent and capital to the region.